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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26247451">lovers</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/humanbehavior/pseuds/humanbehavior'>humanbehavior</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ATEEZ (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Boys In Love, Character Death, M/M, Sad Ending, Secret Relationship, mlm yearning, op is mlm btw, this fic is the eptiome of, um ya &lt;3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 02:33:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,251</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26247451</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/humanbehavior/pseuds/humanbehavior</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p><i>friend. </i><br/>(he was not a friend. he was a lover.)</p>
<p>  <i>lovers. </i><br/>(that's what they were.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>lovers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i was listening 2 haunt me (x 3) by teen suicide for the ending so take that as u will abt how the ending will go (ALSO THE TAGS YALL ALRDY KNOW WHATS HAPPENING DUH)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>seonghwa doesn't know how it even began or even why it was happening. seonghwa was lying in his bed, reading a book when all of a sudden hongjoong barged into his room and locked the door. </p>
<p>seonghwa looked at him with wide eyes, "what's going on?" </p>
<p>hongjoong didn't answer him, all he did was stand with his body guarding the door. hongjoong stared at the wooden floor, slowly catching his breath. </p>
<p>"hongjoong, what's going on?" seonghwa asked sternly, "i need you to tell me." </p>
<p>hongjoong shook his head, his brown fluffy hair, getting in his eyes. </p>
<p> "hongjoong, tell me what the fuck is going on!" seonghwa pleaded. the ruckus downstairs stopped suddenly before it began again and a gunshot rang throughout the palace. </p>
<p>seonghwa couldn't control his thoughts. of course not, you'd think of the worst things when you didn't know what was going on. seonghwa fell to the ground, his bottom lip trembling. seonghwa doesn't know what happened but the next thing he knows is hongjoong is by his side, holding him, comforting him. it's okay, seonghwa thinks, he could die like this. hongjoong pulls away and gratitude floods his body. </p>
<p>"are you going to be okay?" hongjoong asks and it's so considerate and sweet that seonghwa feels ready to begin sobbing all over again. </p>
<p>seonghwa doesn't answer him- instead he asks, "joong, what's going on?" </p>
<p>hongjoong looked at seonghwa, "they're raiding the palace. i'm pretty sure they're after you and your family. they're only here to kill you and take control over the palace. "</p>
<p>"why?" seonghwa asked. </p>
<p>hongjoong furrowed his eyebrows, "uh, i don't know? for power, i mean that's what i can think of off the top of my head." </p>
<p>"no, no, not that." seonghwa shakes his head, "i mean, why are you telling me this? you could've fled and left safely. you're risking your life just to be with me. you know that, i know you do." </p>
<p>"so tell me why, hongjoong. " seonghwa says. </p>
<p>hongjoong hesitates, looking down at his hands, "uh because… because i trust you." hongjoong glances to give him an awkward smile,"i'm trying to think about what to do right now and i-" hongjoong shakily exhales, "if i did try this, i don't want to be alone. but we could leave and escape. just you and me." </p>
<p>seonghwa wearily says, "hongjoong, i.. don't do this, please." </p>
<p>"please," hongjoong begs, "you can leave all this shit. you don't have to get married to some girl you don't fucking love, we- we can go off together and be happy in some small village where nobody knows you." </p>
<p>seonghwa grimaced, "i want that, hongjoong i really do. but i can't. i can't just leave behind my family and the whole fucking kingdom just because i felt like it."</p>
<p>"seonghwa, your life is being endangered i'm like one hundred percent sure if you left right now it wouldn't be classified as just feeling like it." </p>
<p>seonghwa sighed, "okay but the people might be in danger. i don't… i can't leave them. who knows what would happen if i just left? huh? they would be fucking miserable, hongjoong. " </p>
<p>hongjoong sighs, staring at seonghwa. sure, he was right but there would be no kingdom but wasn't that kind of a good thing though? there was nobody to rule over them and you didn't hear this from hongjoong but the park family was extremely harsh with their sentencing so it technically would be a good thing. he couldn't say anything about it though because he worked for the family and he was dating their child, secretly but nonetheless he was still involved with their family in more than one way. </p>
<p>anyway, hongjoong somehow had to convince seonghwa to leave. that was his job, he had to protect seonghwa and even if it wasn't, he'd protect seonghwa until the end of time. a loud thump was heard at end of the hallway and seonghwa stands up from where he'd been sat on the floor. hongjoong gets up along with him. seonghwa stares at the door with wide eyes. seonghwa doesn't have to say anything, hongjoong already knows what he's thinking: <em> are they coming for us </em>? </p>
<p>hongjoong begins to panic, he gets in front of seonghwa's face and grips his shoulders, tears slipping out of his eyes and trailing down his face, "seonghwa, you to leave. i-" hongjoong looked over his shoulder, anxiety building. fear was evident in his eyes. </p>
<p>hongjoong sighs, "i need you to leave. you'll be happy. i need one of us to be happy, seonghwa, please." </p>
<p>"i'm not happy if i'm not with you."</p>
<p>hongjoong removes his hands from seonghwa's shoulders in shock, "no, no. seonghwa, don't do this. if you don't leave, you'll die." </p>
<p>"but if i do leave then you'll die." seonghwa says simply.</p>
<p>"seonghwa. " </p>
<p>the boy shrugs and turns around to look out of the window in his room, "there's no way i'd survive if i made it out there." </p>
<p>hongjoong walks towards the window and looks down below at the entrance of the palace were people from the town,  yelling. some of them had signs, some of them had torches but all hongjoong knew is that the people wanted the park family to die. and their dream was about to come true.</p>
<p>seonghwa sighs, "i always doubted that they actually liked us that much. i guess the niceness was always a facade. makes sense, though."</p>
<p>hongjoong stares at seonghwa, "what do you want to do? it's all up to you." </p>
<p>seonghwa purses his lips in thought until he finally says in a small voice, "can we sleep?" </p>
<p>hongjoong nods, brushing seonghwa's bangs out of his face, and with a watery smile he replies, "yeah, we can do that." </p>
<p>they lie in bed while loud bangs and thumps are heard throughout the hallway but hongjoong doesn't care. seonghwa does, and with every scared whimper that escapes his lips, hongjoong holds him tighter with his arm around seonghwa's shoulder, gripping seonghwa's hand. </p>
<p>seonghwa looks up at him with his sparkling, glassy eyes, he whispers to hongjoong, "i love you. i feel as if we were never strangers. not even for a moment. " </p>
<p>hongjoong smiles at him- he doesn't know what to say but the next thing hongjoong knows is he's waking up from a loud bang in the room next to him. hongjoong looks at seonghwa, who is snuggled in his chest, his chest slowly rising and falling. </p>
<p>hongjoong grips seonghwa's hand tighter- but not enough to wake the other up. there's a loud bang and hongjoong knows it's the door slamming against the wall of seonghwa's room. the next thing he knows is he feels a sharp pain in his back and he doesn't need to ask seonghwa anything- he knows he's already gone. hongjoong could survive, he knows that. it was only one shot. but a life without seonghwa is not something he wants to do. </p>
<p>hongjoong hears talking outside of seonghwa's room and he can make it out as, "the boy and his friend are done with." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> friend.  </em>
</p>
<p>(he was not a friend. he was a lover.)</p>
<p>
  <em> lovers.  </em>
</p>
<p>(that's what they were.)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>hongjoong leans forward to press a kiss on seonghwa's forehead and he whispers, "i love you." and closes his eyes for the very last time. </p>
<p>historians always said they were best friends until the very end. that was true but it wasn't the whole truth. they were bound together and maybe if the universe wasn't so cruel, they could've been happy. </p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>&lt;3 yuh </p>
<p>twitter: xiaodery420</p></blockquote></div></div>
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